posted September 24, 2014 03:37 PM            

First and foremost, in no way shape or form am I trying to undermine Ms. Watson's initiative. I absolutely agree with everything she said and her speech was indeed quite powerful (although I'm sure a lot of scholars provided her with their insights when she was in the process of writing the speech).

However, "feminism" was often regarded as "taboo" because as she said, it was associted with "men hating". It could be that some men are so self-righteous as to think that "feminism" is a conquest meant to remove all of their powers when in reality, it's got nothing to do with a battle of sexes.

The problem is because of Emma Watson's UN speech, most people are now going to "sensationalize" "feminism" and turn it into a trend. So much so that most people taking this so-called "stance" won't even remember what it actually means on a practical and theoritical level. Saying "I'm a feminist" isn't enough to make one a feminist. Feminism is about a political and social involvment towards greater gender equality. Most people are now going to plaster their fantasy of "feminism" without even realizing what such position entails. It's so much more than this simple word. It's about understanding the deep rooted issues linked to gender inequality and take proper action. Most people are now going to think of themselves as "feminists" at night and forget about it the next morning because the truth is a majority are individualists. So long as it doesn't affect them directly, it's easy to forget about this on-going struggle women face daily in this world whether they'd be in the US or in Saudi Arabia. Of course, in some countries gender inequality is far more obvious than in some others and that's why it's so easy to forget about it in our daily routines but I don't want people to believe that "labelling" themselves as "feminists" is going to be enough to make a change. It's not.

Emma Watson's initiative is great, there's no doubt about that. The problem is that now, "feminism" is going to be elevated to the level of "trend" (like the ice bucket challenge) and people will have forgotten about it in a couple of months. Using celebrities to raise awareness is a marketing strategy that is only emphemeral. Once the "hype"/"media coverage" ceases, so does people's attention.

Am I the only person thinking this speech is a bit of a double-edge sword when it comes to actual long-lasting awareness?

posted September 24, 2014 04:44 PM            

In any case, I don't think it's going to make much of a difference one way or another. I think the only one she's going to influence are those who are passionate fans, and in their case I expect it will be fairly long lasting, and perhaps the only thing that would get them interested in the first place (be it feminism in general or this specific project). Furthermore, it will get more people to hear it than who otherwise would've so it's not a bad strategy as long as it's only one small part of their plan.

Naturally, the HeForShe project will need a lot more than her giving a speech...but I don't believe that her speech is going to have the effect you feared simply because if she's the only reason this project gets attention then it was doomed from the start anyway. (Btw, going by her speech they should've had another name for it as it's "She for he" as much as "He for she." Maybe Humanism?)

And for those like me who hadn't even known about it until now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-iFl4qhBsE

Btw, shouldn't this actually be in Aquarius Rising?

quote:

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This Forum celebrates diversity in all its manifestations; may the Aquarian Age bring equality to everyone, and in its dawn, bring an end to racism, sexism, and discrimination of every type

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posted September 24, 2014 08:55 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by MineAgain:
I promised myself I would stop posting on LL

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Me, too. It's not working.

quote:

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Originally posted by MineAgain:
The problem is because of Emma Watson's UN speech, most people are now going to "sensationalize" "feminism" and turn it into a trend. So much so that most people taking this so-called "stance" won't even remember what it actually means on a practical and theoritical level.

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Really?? Hmm. I would be surprised if things turned out that way, but you could be right...I'm not exactly "in touch" with mainstream culture.

I sorta naively assume most people are like me, and they don't have the time or interest to read speeches by people like Emma Watson. (Indeed, I have not read her speech.) It's nothing against her specifically...I typically don't read any movie stars' speeches. Why would I? They're actors, not orators.

posted September 24, 2014 08:56 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by hannaramaa:
When the host revealed he denied such accusations the whole entire audience clapped. Hard. It made me so mad thinking of all these people just tourists in Studio City, California are sitting there absorbing straight up gossip and rooting for it.

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posted September 24, 2014 10:28 PM            

From the beginning, which is good IMO (and probably necessary if you're not that familiar with pop culture, Disney movies, and/or popularity of princesses among girls):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAXEQswcv44

That's 10 and a half minutes long. If you want to shave it down to where he gets to the point (having already built up to it) then you can start here:
http://youtu.be/jAXEQswcv44?t=6m19s

posted September 27, 2014 01:10 AM            

Even so there were still little things, such as her being called "bossy" when she was 8 for wanting to direct the plays but the boys were not. She also didn't appreciate when the media started to sexualize her when she was 14 (hope she doesn't make the mistake of checking out Harry Potter fanfiction... ). At 15 her female friends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams for fear of developing muscles. And when she thought of herself as a feminist many women rejected her as having a spine (another version of being bossy again), and, of course, man hating. ("Unattractive, even.")

She describes parents who didn't love her less for being a girl, schools that expected the same from her as the boys, mentors who didn't assume she'd retire to raise babies made her who she is today, and those influences, male and female, are feminists whether they realize it or not. And if the word "Feminism" still leaves a bad taste then ignore the word and go for the idea that people should be people rather than limited by gender.

She does mention that sometimes only women are invited to feminist functions which strikes her as absurd because change can't come about if only half the world is invited. She extends a formal invitation to men (the program she's speaking for) and she says men need gender equality as well. She hates how her father's contributions as a parent is valued less than her mother's by society despite that she needed his presence in her life to become who she is today as much as she needed her mother's.

posted September 27, 2014 01:45 AM            

Excerpt 1:

quote:

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I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand
I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn't check.
I learned to fly, I learned to fight
I lived a whole life in one night
We saved each other's lives out on the pirate's deck.

And I remember that night
When I'm leaving a late night with some friends
And I hear somebody tell me it's not safe,
someone should help me
I need to find a nice man to walk me home.

When I was a boy, I scared the pants off of my mom,
Climbed what I could climb upon
And I don't know how I survived,
I guess I knew the tricks that all boys knew.

And you can walk me home, but I was a boy, too.

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Excerpt 2:

quote:

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And so I tell the man I'm with about the other life I lived
And I say, "Now you're top gun, I have lost and you have won"
And he says, "Oh no, no, can't you see
When I was a girl, my mom and I we always talked
And I picked flowers everywhere that I walked.
And I could always cry, now even when I'm alone I seldom do
And I have lost some kindness
But I was a girl too.
And you were just like me, and I was just like you"

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posted September 27, 2014 06:28 PM            

quote:

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Call for Change
Emma Watson, 24, who was recently named U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador, delivered a powerful speech about gender inequality at the United Nations September 20, calling on all men to become partners in the fight for equal rights for women.

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Add in a headshot and that's it.

So far I don't think this has even reached a "1" on the Media Impact scale, at least not in the US. 'Course those who actually care enough to search this info out or even have it sent to them through their subscriptions don't really count as they already have strong feelings on the matter.